New Registration System for Motor Carriers, Forwarders, Others Suspended

Monday, January 16, 2017

Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg Trade Report

The Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has suspended until further notice its regulations requiring interstate motor carriers, freight forwarders, brokers, intermodal equipment providers, hazardous materials safety permit applicants, and cargo tank facilities under FMCSA jurisdiction to submit required registration and biennial update information via a new online Unified Registration System. FMCSA states that during this suspension such information will be filed using existing procedures and forms.

The URS was designed to replace the registration functions of the DOT identification number system, the 49 USC chapter 139 commercial registration system, the 49 USC 13906 financial responsibility information system, and the service of process agent designation system. However, FMCSA states that additional time is needed to securely migrate data from multiple legacy platforms into a new central database and to conduct further compatibility testing with state partners. The agency intends to lift the suspension of the regulations once the technology to implement them is complete.